Brazil's Agriculture Minister, Carlos Fávaro, announced Tuesday during a public hearing at the Senate Committee on Agriculture and Agrarian Reform that the bird flu outbreak in Montenegro, Rio Grande do Sul, has been successfully contained. The country's health system quickly implemented measures, including inspections of 540 nearby rural establishments and setting up sanitary barriers.
Brazil's Labor Ministry (MPT) has filed a public civil lawsuit against Chinese automaker Build Your Dreams (BYD) and two contractor companies, China JinJiang Construction Brazil and Tonghe Intelligent Equipment of Brazil (now Tecmonta), for slave labor and international human trafficking.
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva was admitted to the Sírio-Libanês Hospital in Brasília on Monday after feeling unwell and cancelling all engagements. The 79-year-old leader underwent a series of tests after which he was diagnosed with labyrinthitis and was released to rest at the presidential Alvorada Palace. This ailment in the hearing apparatus came after an intracranial hemorrhage in late 2024, raising concerns about his potential candidacy in the 2026 elections.
The Brazilian Government was represented by Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira in a meeting on Sunday in Madrid, Spain, along with representatives from 19 other countries to review measures to support Gaza and pressure Israel to end the war, including potential sanctions. Vieira criticized the international community's inaction regarding the humanitarian crisis in Gaza in a meeting that also served as preparation for an upcoming conference on the Palestinian issue, scheduled for June in New York.
Albania, Namibia, and India joined the list of countries imposing a total ban on chicken imports from all of Brazil, while Angola has opted for a more limited restriction, banning purchases solely from the State of Rio Grande do Sul, where an outbreak of avian flu was detected and contained.
Former President Dilma Rousseff has been found eligible by Brazil’s Amnesty Commission, which also issued an apology for her persecution and torture during the military dictatorship (1964–1985). She will receive R$ 100,000 (US$ 17,700) in reparations for her dismissal from the Economics and Statistics Foundation (FEE) in Rio Grande do Sul state in 1977.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio admitted he was considering the possibility of sanctioning Brazilian Supreme Federal Court (STF) Justice Alexandre de Moraes under the Global Magnitsky Act for alleged human rights violations. The magistrate is targeting former President Jair Bolsonaro for the alleged Jan. 8, 2023, coup attempt, together with many of his aides and followers.
Brazil topped the world last year in forest fires, accounting for 42% of the global loss of primary tropical forests. The extreme heat of the year, exacerbated by climate change and El Niño, intensified fires, which destroyed more forest than agribusiness activities for the first time. The worst drought ever recorded contributed to a sixfold increase in fire-related deforestation compared to 2023.
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva recognized his country's historical debt to Africa, proposing to repay it through solidarity, technological exchange, and agricultural support. Speaking at the 2nd Brazil–Africa Dialogue on Food Security in Brasília, he highlighted Brazil’s expertise in food production as a tool to combat hunger and poverty.
Despite a record grains and oil seeds harvest, Brazil’s soybean trading has slowed significantly, because of the mismatch between buyers’ prices and suppliers’ expectations, points out Globo Rural, an agribusiness site.